December 1, 2017
DEAR FRIENDS,
SHARK’s videos showing two adults and four boys torturing birds at live pigeon shoots in Berks County, PA, was not only heartbreaking, it was evidence of multiple criminal acts having been committed. The dramatic videos, which you can see HERE and HERE, were taken using our Angel drone on November 9th and 11th at the Wing Pointe canned hunting club.
DEAR FRIENDS,
SHARK’s videos showing two adults and four boys torturing birds at live pigeon shoots in Berks County, PA, was not only heartbreaking, it was evidence of multiple criminal acts having been committed. The dramatic videos, which you can see HERE and HERE, were taken using our Angel drone on November 9th and 11th at the Wing Pointe canned hunting club.
Two boys working the shoot on the 11th pulled the heads off of still living pigeons
We reached out to the Animal Rescue League of Berks County and asked for their Humane Police Officer to look at our video. To their great credit, they agreed with us that what occurred violated the law. They then contacted the office of Berks County District Attorney John Adams. In a phone call with us, the Humane Police Officer relayed the news to us that the DA would not prosecute anything dealing with pigeon shoots. With one shameful move, Adams defied both the law and any concept of common decency.
These three were part of the tiny handful of killers who participated in the pigeon shot
Given the fact that young boys were used to commit such terrible cruelty, SHARK is moving out of the realm of animal protection to pressure Pennsylvania's corrupt law enforcement. We have already received a helpful statement from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), and have reached out to the American Psychological Association and the Pennsylvania Psychological Association. In coming days and weeks, we will update you on further efforts to hold Pennsylvania's corrupt law enforcement accountable for its servitude to the pigeon shoot mafia.
The workers who tortured pigeons knew they were being filmed. That they still committed illegal acts means they knew DA Adams would protect them
The blanket protection given by DA Adams for pigeon shoots is not surprising. Adams has a long history of protecting Wing Pointe and the shooters who kill animals there. He’s allowed vicious animal cruelty to go unprotected and even allowed shooters and supporters to either get away with assaulting SHARK personnel or to be given the lightest slap on the wrist possible.
DA John Adams is deep in the pockets of the pigeon shooters
To be clear, John Adams is NOT an objective enforcer of the law, but has been bought and paid for by the pigeon shooters. Adams has deep ties with pigeon shooters and has received a great deal of campaign money from them as well. You can read all about that in our report we issued in 2014 called, "The Ties that Bind: Pennsylvania’s Cruel Live Pigeon Shoots and the District Attorney that Protects them."
There is no question that what those six people did at Wing Pointe, which included living birds having their heads torn off, birds being dumped alive into garbage barrels, and wounded birds being physically tortured, were illegal under PA law. We specifically cite the PA Supreme Court decision called HULSIZER v. LABOR DAY COMMITTEE INC, which dealt with the notorious Hegins Labor Day pigeon shoots. In their decision, the court wrote:
"Then, the trapper boys retrieve the wounded pigeons from the circled area and kill them by a variety of methods. These include tearing the birds' heads from their bodies, throwing or smashing them against objects on the ground, crushing the birds by falling on them, and suffocating the birds by tossing them into a barrel filled with other dead and dying pigeons. All of these methods are contrary to accepted veterinary methods of euthanasia and cause the birds additional pain and suffering."
Additionally, the American Veterinary Medical Association sent us a statement that says tearing a pigeon's head off is not in compliance with their standards.
This worker saw a live bird in the garbage barrel, picked him and tried to tear his head off, but failed, then put him back in the barrel, still alive, and covered it up
PA recently updated their anti-cruelty law to make it stronger and we know that pigeons are a protected species, as our video has already been used to have a worker successfully charged with cruelty at a pigeon shoot in Bucks County. Therefore, there is no question that what we filmed violates the law.
Please politely contact DA Adams and send him links to our videos. Tell him that by willfully ignoring criminal acts committed in his jurisdiction, he is defying the highest court in PA as well as betraying his oath of office. Please let us know if you get a response.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://twitter.com/BerksDA/
Video links to send:
Pigeons Brutalized, Buried Alive at Pennsylvania Pigeon Shoot
Children Caught Torturing Birds at PA Pigeon Shoot
Please also continue to contact PA Governor Tom Wolf:
https://www.governor.pa.gov/contact/
717-787-2500
Video links to send:
Pigeons Brutalized, Buried Alive at Pennsylvania Pigeon Shoot
Children Caught Torturing Birds at PA Pigeon Shoot
Please also continue to contact PA Governor Tom Wolf:
https://www.governor.pa.gov/contact/
717-787-2500
You can learn more about Adams in the following videos:
